Mercury motor meter



0. WHITE.

.2 R9 El Us. Mw.. RW. WD

E nvL MH YN R0 UN.. CA Dnc :LU MP Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

OTIS` WHITE, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO SANGAMO ELECTRIC PANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

COM

MERCURY MoronV METER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, i922.

Application filed .hay 5, 1921. serial No. 482,638.

To all w hom t may concern."

VBe it knownthat I, O'rrs l/VHITE, a citizen of vthel United States, and a resident of rpringlielch'in the county of Sangamon and State of Illinois,'have invented, certain new and useful Improvements in Mercury'Motor Meters, of which the following is a specification, reference' being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to electricity meters of the type comprising a rotary'disc armature operating in a bath of mercury contained in a suitable chamber through which the meter operating currentV is conducted. rl`he mercury chamber is usually closed by a cover plate, and the rotation of the armature actuates the usual'registering train through an armature shaft `which passes through the cover plate and is provided'with a worm or other suitable mechanism for that purpose. In meters of this description it is of the utmost importance that the armature'shaft rotate freely in order that error on light loads ma;v be avoided, andit is therefore desirable that there be no frictional contact between the cover plate and the armature shaft at the point where said shaft passes through the opening provided for that purposea' in said plate. It is also necessary1 however, to provide means" for preventing they mercury from escaping through such opening if the meter bev agitated, tilted or upset, as occurs' especially in transportation, and various expedients have heretofore been employed to insure againstvspilling of the mercury in such circumstances. A construction whichhas been successfully used for this purpose is shown and described in patent to A'. L. Emens, No. 1,226,956, dated MayA 22, 1917, and comprises a nipple .which depends'from the cover plate around the opening through which the'. armature shaft passes, and means between the nipple and the lower portion. of the 'mercury chamber for protecting the nipple from direct impact off the body of mercury in said chamber .if the meter should be tipped, the construction shown in said patent for' that purpose being in the form of 4asecond nipple which: embraces the firstandy forms therewith an intermediate chamber which catches and,

while the meter is tilted or inverted, .retains any mercury which passes the outer nipple. My present invention has for its object to provide an improved construction for preventing spilling of the mercury, which While making use of the generic feature of employing a nipple -in connection with means for protecting -it from direct impact of the Fig. l is acentral vertical section through the mercury chamber of a meterof the type referred to;

F ig. 2 is aV horizontal sectiony on line 2 2 yF ig. 3 is a partial central vertical sectionl showing the position assumed by the mercury when the meter is tipped nearly over; and

F ig. 4 is a view showing a simplified construction by which certainl advantages ofmy invention may be realized, but which does not embody all the improvements vshown in the other figures.V y

Y Referring to the drawings, Vwhich show such parts of a meter-fas are necessary to a full understanding yofmy invention, 5 indi-` cates a .casing of suitable non conductingma- Y terial, such as bakehte, which encloses' aV .mercury chamber comprising va lower armalj i ture-containing compartment 6, an' upper compartment 7, the lower portion ofwhichV is conical as shown at 8 and a' connectingneck'9 which affords communicationbetween said upper and lower compartments.' l The bottom of the lower compartment 6 is formed by a disc or plate 10 which Yis fsecuredin ica place by screws ll in theusuallwayf The top or cover of the upper cjompartmentl Tis formed by a plate 12 whichis securedin place screws 18. This cover plate is pref.

erably formed integral with the lowermember of a yoke or-frame let which supportsV a bearing l5 for the upper end of the armature shaft of the meter.

Mounted in the lower compartment 6 is a disc armature 16 of any suitable design, which is secured to a shaft 17 which rises through an opening in the cover plate 12 and is pivoted at its upper end in the bearing 15, the lower end of said armature sha-ft being .preferably pivoted in a bearing 18 provided in the bottom pla-te 10. At its up.

'comingv into contact with it, but small enough so that mercury cannot readily liow through it. 21- indic a worm tarried by the armature shalt for connecting it with the usual registering train, and 22 indicates the usual damping disc carried by the armature shaft. The construct-ion a thus far described is old, and as the operation. or meters of this type is well understood it need not be explained at this time. .lt will be understood that the normal level of the mercury in the mercury chamber stands at or slightly above the top of the float 19., as indicated in F 1.

Coming now'to my improvements as incorporated in. the meter illustrated, 23 indicates a tubular shield which lits snugly vin the throat or passage 9 between the lower and upper'compartments 6, 7, and extends a short distance above the bottoni of the upper compartment, preferably to a point slightly above the highest point of Ysuch conical bottom, and above the opening into the nipple 20as shown inA Fig. l, although the height of the upper margin of said shield may be varied considerably without materially affecting its operation. rlhis shield is provided with one or more holes 24 adjacent to the lowest portion of the. bottom' 8 o1 the'upper compartment, so that any mercury contained in such compartment around the upper portion of such shield flow back into the throat 9 when the meter is turned to an upright position. A second somewhat smaller tubular shield 25 depends from the cover plate 12, to which it issecured in such position that it encircles the' nipple 20. This shield 25 is or considerably greater kdiameter than the nipplel 20 so that a chamber26 is formed between them, and its lower end is wide mouthed, that isto say, it is not constricted to such an extent as would interfere with the free escape from the chamber 26 of any mercury caught therein because of the upsetting or tippingof the meter` as is shown for example in YFig. 3. The lower end of the shield 25 extends down into the shield 23 approximately to the normal level of the mercury inthe throat 9.

A conical baille 2T is mounted upon thearmature shalt 17 a short distance below the lower end of the nipple 20, the larger diameter of said bal'l'lebeing at its upper endl.4

It the meter shown in Fig. 1 be tipped comparatively slowly it will be evident that the mercury in the lower portion of the mercury chamber will flow ont of the throat 9 through the shield 23, either through the holes 2e or through the open upper end of 'said shield, intothe upper compartment 7 where it will assume approximately the positionfshown in Fig. 3. A; small portion ofthe mercury alsowill pass into the chamber' 26 between the depending` shield 25 and the'nipple 20. None of it, however, will pass out through the nipple because it will not have access to the opening therethrough. If the meter were turned over violently the result would be the same except that some of the mercury might splash against the baille 27, but lany such mercury would be directed away 'from the opening through the nipple and would liall into the chamber 26. It the meter were completely inverted the greater' part of the mercury Vwould still be retainedl in the chamber '7 while a small portion of it would be held in the chamberr 26. Under any of these conditions agitation or shaking et the meter would not cause any of it to pass out through the nipple as they greater part of the mercury would not be thrown into the chamber 26 by any such agitation, and such small portion thereof as might be contained in the chamber 26 has insuiiicient mass to cause it to be splashed into the opening through the nipple.A lt will be seen, there lore, that no inatterwhat the position ol: the meter may be there is no danger of any appreciable A)art ot the mercury escaping through the nipple, lit any minuteparticles should by any chance get into the nipple the inversion oit the meter will cause themto runA out through the nipple into the outer part of the meter, so'that they will not interfere with the freedom of movement of the armature shattwhen the meter is restored to its upright position. i ln this connection it will be wellto explainthat an important advantage in making the depending shield 25 Wide mouthed` is that it permits vthe mercury contained in the chamber 26 to return reelyto the loweririortion of the meter when the lat# ter is restored to its upright position, and it is not held in conta-ct with the armature shait, as might be the case it said shield were provided with an opening of only slightly greater diameter than the armature shaft. Owing .to the highfsurtace tension ci` mercury. and lack ot pressure any lglobules which might be poclreted in contact with the armation between the shaft and the surrounding -shield which would interfere with the free righted after having been tilted or upset the Y mercury in the compartment T flows back into the lower compartment and throat through the holes 24 in the shield 23, and at thistime is ,prevented from Asplashing into the opening through the nipple 20 by the upper portion of the shield 23, by the lower portion of the shield 25, and by the baffle 27, all of which cooperate to that end.

In Fig. 4 l have illustrated the same construction with the exception that the depending shield 25 is omitted. Obviously many of the advantages of the construction shown in the other figures may be realized by the construction shown in F ig. 4, as even in the absence lof the depending shield25 the shield 23 acts -to prevent any considerablebody of mercury from coming into contact with or beingY thrown against the opening into. thev nipple `20 by inversion or agitation of the meter, whichresult is further` promoted by the useiin connection with the shield-23 of t-he .baffle 27..

l What I claim as my invention and desire tof-secureby Letters Patent,- u l. A mercury motor meterV comprising a mercury chamber,.a cover for said chamber,` an armature .shaft extending through fanopening' 1n the cover, a nipple depending from thev cover around the armature shaft, and a tubular shield in the mercury chamber rising above the normal level ofv the mercury therein.

2. A mercury motor meter comprising ai mercury chamber, a cover for said chamber, an armature shaft extending through an opening in the cover, a nipple depending from the cover around the armature shaft, and a tubular shield in the mercury chamber rising above the normal level of the mercury therein and above the lower end of said nipple.

3. A mercury motor meter comprising a mercury chamber having a funnel-shaped upper compartment, anarmature compartment in said chamber below said upper compartment, a cover for said chamber, an armature shaft extending through an opening in the cover, a nipple depending from the cover around the armature shaft, and a tubular shield in the mercury chamber rising above the normal level of the mercury therein, and extending into said upper compartment,

4. A mercury motor meter comprising a mercury chamber having a funnel-shaped upper compartment, an armature compartment in said chamber below said upper compartment, a cover for said chamber, an armature shaft extending through an opening in the cover, a nipple depending from the cover around the armature shaft, anda tubular shield in the mercury chamber rising above the normal level of the mercury therein, and extending into said upper compartment to a point above the lower end of said nipple. e

5. mercury motor meter comprising a mercury chamber having a' funnel-shaped upper compartment, anarmature compart ment in said chamber below said upper compartment, a cover for said chamber, an armature shaft .extending through an opening in the cover, avnipple depending fromv the cover around the armatureshaft, and a tubular shield inthe mercury chamber rising above the normal level of the mercury therein,'andzextending into saidupper compartment, said shield having one or more openings forl the return of mercury from said upper compartment to; the lowerl portion of the mercury chamber. v

soA

. V6. A-mercury motor meter ycomprising a mercury chamber vhaving al funnel-shaped upper compartment, anarmature compart-v ment in said chamber belowrlsaid upper com-i `partment,'a cover for said chamber, an armature shaft extending `through an openingy in the cover, afnipplerdepending from the cover Aaround the. armature shaft, and a tubula'rshieldI in 'the mercury chamberV ris-y i f ing above the normal level of the. mercury therein, and extending into saidupper'compartment to .a pointabove the lower -end of said nipple, said. shield -having'one or more openings for the return of mercury from said upper compartment to the lowerl portion ofthe mercury chamber.

7. A mercury motor meter comprisingV a mercurychamber, a cover'for said chamber, an armature shaft extending through an opening in the cover, a nipple depending from the cover around the armature shaft,

Va wide mouthed tubularshield depending Afrom the'cover varound said nipple, and

means between said nipple'and the lower lportion of the mercury chamber for protecting said nipple from direct impact of the body of mercury therein when the meter is tipped. Y

8. A mercury motor meter comprising a mercury chamber, a `cover for said chamber, an armature shaft extending through an opening' in the cover, a nipple depending from the cover around the armatureshaft,

a wide mouthed tubular shield dependingk from the cover around saidk nipple, and "a baffle carried by the armature shaft belpw said nipple for protecting said nipple against direct impact of mercury when thev meter is tipped.

9. A mercury motor meter comprlsmg a mercury chamber having a funnelshaped" mercury chamber, a cover for said chamber, an armature shaft extending through an open-ing` in the cover, a' nipple depending from the coverv around the armature shaft, a bafile on the armature shaft below said nipple, and a wide mouthed tubular shield depending .from the cover around said nipple and extending below said baffle.

10. A mercury motor meter comprising a mercury chamber, a cover for said chamber, an armature shaft extending through an opening in the cover, a nipple depending from the cover around the armature shaft, a tubular shield depending from the cover around said nipple, and a tubular shield extending up into the mercury chamber around said depending tubular shield.

ll. A mercury motor meter comprising a mercury chamber, a cover for said chamber, an armature shaft extending through an opening in the cover, a nipple depending from the cover around the armature shaft, a tubular shield depending from the cover around said nipple, a tubular shield extending up into the mercury chamber around said depending tubular shield, and conical baffle carried by the armature shaft elow said nipple and above the lower end o said depending shield.

l2. A mercury motor meter comprising a upper compartment,l an armature compartment in said chamber below said upper compartment, a'cover for said chamber, an armature shaft extending through an opening 'in the cover, a nipple depending from the cover around the armature shaft, a tubular shield in the mercury chamber rising above the normalv level of the mercury therein, and a tubular shield depending from the 'cover around said nipple and extending into the upper end portion of said first-mentioned shield.

13. A mercury motormeter comprising a mercury chamber having a funnel-shaped uppercompartment, an armature compartment in said chamber below said upper compartment, a cover for said chamber, an armature shaft extending through an open ing in the cover, a nipple depending from the cover around the armature shaft, a tubular shield in the mercury chamber rising above the normalllevel of the mercury therein and having` one or more openings for the iow of mercury from said upper'compartment into the lower portion of the mercury chamber, and a tubular shield `depending from the cover around said nipple and extending into the upper end portion of said first-mentioned shield.

14. A mercury motor meter comprising a mercury chamber having a funnel-shaped upper compartment, an armature compart-V ment in said chamber below said upper com partment, a cover for said chamber, an armature sliaft extending through an opening inthe cover, a nipple Ydepending from the cover around the Aarmature shaft, a tubular shield in the mercury chamber rising above the normal level of the vmercury therein, a tubular shield dependingV from thev cover around said nipple and extendingr into the upper end portionfof said first-mentionedshield, and a conical baffle carriedby they armatiue shaft below said nipple.

Y crie WHITE. 

